Today was Ugly Holiday Sweater Day here at Zappos HQ. And if a picture is worth a thousand words, this picture could write a novel. Should we submit this to AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com?

Yesterday, our tech team hosted one of the "sweetest" (sometimes stomach-churning) traditions at Zappos--the Tech Donut Eating Contest. We faced off against Amazon.com in an all-out donut war. Unfortunately, Amazon won. The winner ate a whopping 24 donuts in just 20 minutes!

Fortunately, nobody got sick, although some looked close to it...

This week’s Zapponian Spotlight is on Chris N. from the Content Team of Zappos Development, Inc. Chris is an Ohio State grad and spends his free time writing (which ,coincidentally, he also does for a living!), watching movies, and looking at funny cat photos on the internet.

We asked him the standard ZS questions, and here are his answers:

Pick 3 words to describe your personal style.

C: Inconsistent, lazy, and steezy

 Who is your favorite musician or band?

C: Hmm hard to choose just one favorite.  Wu-Tang Clan, I guess.

Name 3 things you never leave home without?

C: Phone, wallet, keys.

If you could have dinner with one famous person, who would it be?

C: Jean Claude Van Damme.  We’d hunt down a large bison and Jean Claude would roundhouse it onto the grill.

What’s the weirdest thing to ever happen to you?

C: I was attacked unprovoked while walking into a bar!

What’s your favorite part about working at Zappos?

C:  The great people!

Congratulations to October 2011 HERO Award winner Maritza L.! Maritza is a part of our PEACE team and she's a huge part of all our Zappos Culture events and just an overall great Zapponian.

Here’s what a nominee said about Maritza:

If humble had a name, it would be Maritza. She has been integral to the Zappos culture that we all love so much and she graciously welcomed me as a teammate. You would never know that she is involved with some of the biggest and best culture events here on campus because she gives credit to the team that constantly inspires her. She is so hardwired with Zappos culture, she can take a small idea from a Zapponian and turn it into a successful event! Thank you!

The Zappos Family HERO Award is given to well-deserving nominees monthly to recognize them for all their hard work and overall awesomeness.

The recipient gets a special HERO cape, a HERO pin, a $150 Zappos gift card and the best part of all...a parade thrown just for them!

Congrats Maritza!

This week’s Zapponian Spotlight is on Abby N. from ZCLT.

Where are you from and what brought you to Vegas?

A: I am originally from Iowa.  I moved here about 7 years ago, about 6 months after my sister moved here.  My plan was to go to school for Film Editing.  I have not yet gone to school but I still intend to learn since I love editing!  I was lucky enough to find Zappos about 2 years after I moved out here and it is an amazing place to work.

What are 3 fun facts about you?
A: I have 2 cats, Norm and Joon.  My favorite condiment is ketchup, and I love Michael McDonald!

You’ve been given access to a time machine.  Where and when would you travel to?

A:  I would travel back to 1969 to go to Woodstock and live through the 1970s!  It was definitely the most amazing time in music (in my opinion).

Name 3 things that you never leave home without and why. 

A: My clothes, my wallet and my sense of humor.  It is important to not take anything too seriously.

What is your favorite thing about working at Zappos?

A: A large majority of my friends work here.  It is pretty awesome considering that I came to Zappos and only knowing one person that worked here.

What is your favorite core value?

A: Pursue Growth and Learning.  This core value always tells me to constantly keep bettering myself and to accept everything in life as it is a giant learning experience.

Our Zappos Wishez Fairies granted another wish! This time, the recipient was Rockne H. from our ZCLT team. Rockne loves our Zappos KY family so much, he put in a wish to go to the KY Holiday Party this year.

With a wave of a fairy wand, and a couple of generous Zapponians, Rockne got his wish!

This week’s Zapponian Spotlight is on Dave H., a business process analyst for Zappos IP, Inc. Dave is a Las Vegas native who loves tennis, singing and acting (he’s a theater guy). He lives with his wife and their three little dogs Zoe, Jack and Sam.  Dave is also a big fan of the word “jazzed”, as in “I’m real jazzed about being on Zapponian Spotlight!”

Read on to learn more about Dave:

Pick 3 words to describe your personal style.     

D: Preppy, classic and Fall (some of you would understand that one. I never wear shorts and layer when it is 100 degrees outside).

Who is your favorite musician or band?  

D:  Favorite is tough but I’ll give you three of the top ones: The Script, Boys Like Girls and The Goo Goo Dolls

Name 3 things you never leave home without

D: Wallet, Keys, Phone (I know that is totally boring, but considering I have a mantra that I say every morning to ensure I’m not forgetting any of these things, it felt appropriate)

If you could have dinner with one famous person, who would it be?    

D:  Leonardo DiVinci. You didn’t say dead or alive so I went with dead. He just seems like he had a lot going on.

What’s the weirdest thing to ever happen to you?         

D:  In high school, a girl offered me 100 bucks to eat a small cockroach. And she paid up!!!

What’s your favorite part about working at Zappos?  

D:  Getting to work with people that I know to be brilliant and that I admire and yet still being made to feel that somehow I am appreciated!   

The Super Awesome Description award is a way of recognizing a member of the Zappos Development content team once a month. If a product description is particularly witty or creative, anyone in the company can nominate the person who wrote it.  The nominations are then read by other members of the content department and voted upon; the description with the most votes wins. The writer of that description is rewarded with a trophy and a certificate, not to mention recognition from their peers.

The winner for October is Chris G. Chris is part of the Casual Lifestyle team, and his riveting account of the OXO® Adjustable Drawer Organizer left no doubt why this was a very winning description. Congrats, Chris!

We asked Chris a few fun questions to get to know him better. Check out his answers below!

What inspired you when writing this description?

I got “crazy Uncle Mike” from “Another Irish Drinking Song” by DaVinci’s Notebook. (Good stuff, but listen with your headphones on.) I found out about DaVinci’s Notebook by listening to Pandora while writing descriptions!

What is your favorite Zappos core value and why?

Tutu Tuesday! No, wait…
You’d think it’d be number three, but I really like number two the best. I’ve worked for too many companies who say “That’s the way we do things,” and never try anything new. Zappos is up for anything.

What's a fact people would be surprised to learn about you?

The alternate universe version of me is an accountant.